CN114973751A

CN114973751A - Parking lot control server, parking lot control method, and vehicle control device

Info

Publication number: CN114973751A
Application number: CN202210112884.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 菅野达也; 鹤冈仙之; 丸岩修嗣
Original assignee: Toyota Motor Corp
Current assignee: Toyota Motor Corp
Priority date: 2021-02-19
Filing date: 2022-01-29
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Also published as: JP2022127133A; US20220270484A1; JP7459818B2

Abstract

The invention makes an automatic driving vehicle stop properly. A parking lot control server (10) is provided with: a storage unit (14) that stores profile information relating to the profile of each parking vehicle in the parking lot; an extraction unit (15) that extracts contour information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles that are present around a travel path of a first vehicle (2) that has been newly parked in a parking lot; a distribution unit (16) that distributes the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

Description

Parking lot control server, parking lot control method, and vehicle control device

Technical Field

The technical field of the invention relates to a parking lot control server, a parking lot control method and a vehicle control device.

Background

As such a device, for example, a parking area control device has been proposed which puts an autonomous vehicle into a parking space in which a plurality of vehicles can be parked in tandem (see patent document 1). As another related art, a technology for performing automatic parking assistance by a remote operation from outside a vehicle has been proposed (see patent document 2).

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2017-182230;

patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-235816.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In some cases, the vehicle is caused to travel in an unmanned manner by an automatic driving function, and the vehicle is stopped. In this case, since it is not necessary to provide, for example, an opening/closing space for a door for getting on/off the vehicle, the interval between adjacent vehicles can be made relatively narrow at the time of parking. On the other hand, when a new vehicle is parked in a state where a plurality of vehicles are already parked, there is a problem that an on-vehicle sensor of the new vehicle may not be able to appropriately detect an obstacle existing between the distance measurement target positions due to the already parked vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a parking lot control server, a parking lot control method, and a vehicle control device that can appropriately park an autonomous vehicle.

Means for solving the problems

A parking lot control server according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a storage unit that stores profile information relating to profiles of respective parking vehicles of a parking lot in a database; an extraction unit that extracts, from the database, profile information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles present around a travel path of a first vehicle newly put in storage in the parking lot; a distribution unit that distributes the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

A first storage step of storing profile information on a profile of each parking vehicle in a parking lot in a database; an extraction step of extracting, from the database, profile information corresponding to one or a plurality of parking vehicles present around a travel route of a first vehicle newly entering the parking lot; a distribution step of distributing the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

A vehicle control device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives profile information relating to profiles of parking vehicles of a parking lot from a parking lot control server; a planning unit that makes a travel plan of the host vehicle based on the contour information; and a control unit that controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle autonomously travels according to the travel plan.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a parking system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the parking lot control server according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the parking lot regulation server according to the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the parking lot regulation server according to the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing one scene of parking.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of a parking lot regulation server and the like will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 5. The following embodiments are based on Automated Valet Parking (AVP). First, after the automatic valet parking is described, the parking lot control server and the like of the present embodiment will be described.

As one mode of automatic valet parking, for example, an infrastructure-coordinated type automatic valet parking is proposed in which a vehicle autonomously traveling in a parking lot is assisted using information obtained from a camera provided in the parking lot. In such an automated valet parking, when a new vehicle enters a garage, for example, a map of a parking lot, full-empty information of each parking space, obstacle information, information indicating a destination position, information indicating a travel route, and the like are distributed to the vehicle. The vehicle makes a travel plan (for example, sets a target trajectory, a target speed, and the like) based on the distributed information, the output of the in-vehicle sensor, and the like. Then, the vehicle autonomously travels according to the travel plan.

The distributed obstacle information includes information indicating an object fixed to a parking lot, such as a pole or a fence, for example. On the other hand, the distributed obstacle information often does not include information indicating an object temporarily present in the parking lot, such as a pedestrian or a falling object. Such an object temporarily existing in the parking lot is detected by the vehicle-mounted sensor in many cases.

However, in the automated valet parking, the vehicle is often autonomously driven in an unmanned manner. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving parking space efficiency, a stuffed parking in which vehicles are parked so that the interval between the vehicles adjacent in the front-rear direction is relatively narrow and the interval between the vehicles adjacent in the left-right direction is relatively narrow is attracting attention.

In the above-described stuffed parking, the area in which a vehicle to be newly parked can travel is sometimes defined by a plurality of parked vehicles. Since a parked vehicle is an object that is temporarily present in a parking lot, if no countermeasure is taken, a vehicle that wants to newly park must detect the parked vehicle with its in-vehicle sensor and determine an area in which the vehicle can travel. However, in the vehicle-mounted sensor, there is a possibility that an obstacle (for example, another parked vehicle) existing in the shadow of one parked vehicle cannot be detected.

Therefore, the parking lot control server 10 of the present embodiment stores the contour information on the contour of each parking vehicle in the parking lot. The parking lot regulation server 10 extracts profile information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles existing around a travel path of a newly warehoused vehicle (for example, the vehicle 2 of fig. 1) and distributes the profile information to the newly warehoused vehicle.

Here, the parking lot regulation server 10 will be described with reference to fig. 1. In fig. 1, a parking lot control server 10 and a vehicle 2 constitute a parking system 1. The parking lot control server 10 is configured to include a map database 11, a vehicle database 12, a vehicle database 13, an obstacle information generating device 14, an obstacle information extracting device 15, and an obstacle information distributing device 16.

The map database 11 stores map information of parking lots. The map information includes information (for example, position information, size information, and the like) relating to an obstacle (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a "static obstacle") such as a wall, a fence, a pole, and the like. In addition to the map information, the map database 11 may store, for example, full-empty information, traffic restriction information, and the like for each parking space.

In the vehicle database 12, information relating to a vehicle that is not the current object of the parking lot control server 10 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "other vehicle information") is stored. In the vehicle database 13, information relating to a vehicle that is the current target of the parking lot control server 10 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "target vehicle information") is stored.

The "vehicle that the parking lot control server 10 is the current object" is a vehicle that is traveling or a vehicle that is currently about to start traveling. In other words, the "vehicle currently targeted by the parking lot control server 10" is a vehicle that is traveling or a vehicle that intends to start traveling based on information distributed from the parking lot control server 10, such as information indicating a traveling route. On the other hand, the "vehicle that the parking lot control server 10 does not currently target" is a vehicle that has completed parking and a vehicle that sequentially waits for entry or exit into or from a garage.

The other vehicle information stored in the vehicle database 12 may include, for example, information indicating a vehicle state, position information, information indicating each element of the vehicle, and the like. The target vehicle information stored in the vehicle database 13 may include, for example, vehicle state information, position information, travel route information, and the like. The "vehicle state information" is not limited to information indicating whether or not the vehicle is parked, and may include information indicating a control state of the vehicle such as entry start, entry, exit start, and exit. The "travel route information" may include information indicating a travel start position, information indicating a target position, and information indicating an operation route from the travel start position to the target position.

The obstacle information generating device 14 acquires position information of the parked vehicle (in other words, the vehicle that has been put in storage) and information indicating each element of the vehicle from the other vehicle information stored in the vehicle database 12. Then, the obstacle information generating device 14 generates contour information indicating a contour of the parked vehicle as one mode of the obstacle information, based on the acquired position information and information indicating each element of the vehicle. The generated contour information may be stored in the obstacle information generating device 14, or may be stored in a storage device different from the obstacle information generating device 14.

The obstacle information extraction device 15 acquires the travel route information included in the target vehicle information corresponding to one target vehicle from the target vehicle information stored in the vehicle database 13. Then, the obstacle information extraction device 15 extracts contour information adjacent to the travel route (for example, the movement route from the travel start position to the target position) indicated by the acquired travel route information from the contour information generated by the obstacle information generation device 14. The obstacle information extraction device 15 also acquires the travel route indicated by the acquired travel route information and map information of the periphery thereof from the map database 11.

The obstacle information distribution device 16 distributes the contour information and the map information (in particular, information related to a static obstacle included in the map information) extracted by the obstacle information extraction device 15 to the vehicle 2 as the one target vehicle. The parking lot control server 10 also distributes travel route information and the like included in the subject person information corresponding to the vehicle 2 as the one subject vehicle.

The vehicle control device 20 mounted on the vehicle 2 includes a receiving unit 21, a planning unit 22, and a control unit 23. The planning unit 22 makes a travel plan of the vehicle 2 based on the contour information, map information, and the like received via the receiving unit 21 and an output of an in-vehicle sensor (not shown). The control unit 23 controls the vehicle 2 in accordance with the travel plan so that the vehicle 2 autonomously travels (for example, controls various actuators).

Next, the operation of the parking lot control server 10 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of fig. 2 to 4. In fig. 2, the parking lot control server 10 determines whether the entry of the target vehicle into the parking lot is completed (step S101). If it is determined in the process of step S101 that the entry of the target vehicle into the parking lot is not completed (no in step S101), the operation shown in fig. 2 is ended. Then, after a first predetermined time (for example, several tens to several hundreds of milliseconds) has elapsed, the process of step S101 is performed again. That is, the operation shown in fig. 2 may be repeated at a cycle corresponding to the first predetermined time.

If it is determined in the process of step S101 that the entry of the target vehicle into the parking lot is completed (yes in step S101), the parking lot control server 10 transfers the target vehicle information corresponding to the target vehicle stored in the vehicle database 13 to the vehicle database 12 (as a result, the target vehicle information is referred to as other vehicle information). Then, the obstacle information generating device 14 of the parking lot control server 10 generates contour information from the position information included in the other vehicle information (i.e., the subject vehicle information moved to the vehicle database 12) and the information indicating each element of the vehicle (step S102). Then, after the first predetermined time has elapsed, the process of step S101 may be performed again.

In fig. 3, the parking lot control server 10 determines whether the target vehicle starts to exit from the parking lot (step S201). If it is determined in the process of step S201 that the target vehicle has not started to exit from the parking lot (no in step S201), the operation shown in fig. 3 is ended. After a second predetermined time (for example, several tens to several hundreds of milliseconds) has elapsed, the process of step S201 may be performed again. That is, the operation shown in fig. 3 may be repeated at a cycle corresponding to the second predetermined time.

If it is determined in the process of step S201 that the target vehicle has started to exit from the parking lot (yes in step S201), the obstacle information generation device 14 of the parking lot control server 10 deletes the contour information generated when the target vehicle enters the parking lot (that is, generated by the operation shown in fig. 2 described above) (step S202). Then, after the second predetermined time has elapsed, the process of step S101 may be performed again.

In fig. 4, the parking lot control server 10 determines whether or not the target vehicle starts entering the parking lot (step S301). If it is determined in the process of step S301 that the target vehicle has not started entering the parking lot (no in step S301), the operation shown in fig. 4 is ended. After a third predetermined time (for example, several tens to several hundreds of milliseconds) has elapsed, the process of step S301 may be performed again. That is, the operation shown in fig. 4 may be repeated at a cycle corresponding to the third predetermined time.

If it is determined in the process of step S301 that the target vehicle starts entering the parking lot (yes in step S301), the obstacle information extraction device 15 of the parking lot control server 10 extracts contour information adjacent to the travel route (for example, the movement route from the travel start position to the target position) indicated by the travel route information on the target vehicle from the contour information generated by the obstacle information generation device 14 (step S302).

Next, the obstacle information distribution device 16 distributes the obstacle information including the contour information extracted by the obstacle information extraction device 15 to the subject vehicle (step S303). The vehicle control device 20 of the vehicle 2, which is an example of the target vehicle, autonomously drives the vehicle 2 and stops the vehicle 2 in accordance with a travel plan prepared based on the received obstacle information and the like (step S304). After the third predetermined time has elapsed, the process of step S301 may be performed again.

Next, the obstacle information distributed from the parking lot control server 10 to the vehicle 2, which is an example of the target vehicle, will be specifically described with reference to fig. 5. In fig. 5, it is assumed that a parking space TA (see a lane portion in fig. 5) is a target position of the vehicle 2 (in other words, a target parking position). In fig. 5, a broken-line arrow indicates a movement route (in other words, a target trajectory) from the target position of the vehicle 2.

In the case shown in fig. 5, the obstacle information extraction device 15 extracts the contour information of each of the parked

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 adjacent to the movement route of the vehicle 2. At this time, the obstacle information extraction device 15 may extract, for example, the coordinates of the front left corner, the front right corner, the rear left corner, and the rear right corner of the parked vehicle 51 (i.e., the coordinates of the four corners of the parked vehicle 51) as the contour information of the parked vehicle 51.

In this case, the obstacle information distribution device 16 distributes the coordinates of the four corners of each of the parked

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 to the vehicle 2. That is, in this case, the coordinates of the four corners of each parked vehicle are distributed to the vehicle 2 as the obstacle information.

The vehicle control device 20 mounted on the vehicle 2 can specify a rectangular region corresponding to the existing range of the parked vehicle 51, for example, from the coordinates of the four corners of the parked vehicle 51. By the same processing, the vehicle control device 20 can specify the rectangular regions corresponding to the respective existing ranges of the parked

vehicles

52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57.

Alternatively, in the case shown in fig. 5, the obstacle information extraction device 15 extracts the contour information of each of the parked

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 adjacent to the movement path of the vehicle 2. At this time, the obstacle information extraction device 15 may determine the area in which the vehicle 2 can travel, based on the extracted contour information of each of the parked

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57. That is, the obstacle information extraction device 15 may also determine the area in which the vehicle 2 can travel, which is defined by the parked

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57, based on the contour information. In this case, the obstacle information distribution means 16 distributes the information indicating the area where the vehicle 2 can travel, which is determined by the obstacle information extraction means 15, to the vehicle 2 as the obstacle information.

vehicles

51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57 adjacent to the movement route of the vehicle 2. The obstacle information distribution device 16 may distribute the extracted contour information itself to the vehicle 2 as obstacle information.

In the case shown in fig. 5, the obstacle information extraction device 15 acquires information about a static obstacle (here, a pole P) present in the periphery of the movement path of the vehicle 2 from the map database 11. The obstacle information distribution device 16 also distributes information relating to the static obstacle acquired by the obstacle information extraction device 15 to the vehicle 2 as obstacle information.

(technical Effect)

The parking lot control server 10 of the present embodiment stores profile information relating to the profile of a parking vehicle. The parking lot regulation server 10 extracts profile information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles existing around the traveling path of a newly warehoused vehicle (for example, the vehicle 2 of fig. 1) and distributes the profile information to the newly warehoused vehicle. Therefore, even in the case where the vehicle-mounted sensor of the newly parked vehicle cannot detect an obstacle existing between the target positions due to the parked vehicle, the newly parked vehicle can recognize the obstacle (for example, the parked vehicle) existing between the target positions from the distributed contour information. Therefore, according to the parking lot regulation server 10, the autonomous vehicle can be appropriately and safely parked.

Various aspects of the invention derived from the above-described embodiments are described below.

A parking lot control server according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a storage unit that stores profile information relating to profiles of respective parking vehicles of a parking lot; an extraction unit that extracts contour information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles present around a travel path of a first vehicle newly put in storage in the parking lot; a distribution unit that distributes the extracted contour information to the first vehicle. In the above-described embodiment, the "obstacle information generating device 14" corresponds to an example of "storage means", the "obstacle information extracting device 15" corresponds to an example of "extracting means", and the "obstacle information distributing device 16" corresponds to an example of "distributing means".

The storage unit stores first profile information relating to a profile of the first vehicle when parking of the first vehicle is completed.

The storage unit deletes second contour information relating to a contour of a second vehicle as the parking vehicle when the second vehicle is taken out of the parking lot.

A parking lot control method according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a first storage step of storing profile information on a profile of each parking vehicle in the parking lot; an extraction step of extracting contour information corresponding to one or a plurality of parking vehicles existing around a travel path of a first vehicle newly entering the parking lot; a distribution step of distributing the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

The parking lot control method includes a second storage step of storing first contour information relating to a contour of the first vehicle when parking of the first vehicle is completed.

The parking lot control method includes a deletion step of deleting second contour information relating to a contour of a second vehicle when the second vehicle is taken out of the parking lot.

A vehicle control device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives profile information relating to profiles of parking vehicles of a parking lot from a parking lot control server; a planning unit that makes a travel plan of the host vehicle based on the contour information; and a control unit that controls the vehicle according to a travel plan so that the host vehicle travels autonomously. In the above-described embodiment, the "receiving unit 21" corresponds to an example of "receiving means", the "scheduling unit 22" corresponds to an example of "scheduling means", and the "control unit 23" corresponds to an example of "control means".

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within a range not departing from the spirit or concept of the invention derived from the scope of the claims and the entire specification, and a parking lot control server, a parking lot control method, and a vehicle control device that are accompanied by such modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals

1, a parking system;

2, vehicles;

10 parking lot control server;

11 a map database;

12. 13 a vehicle database;

14 obstacle information generating means;

15 obstacle information extraction means;

16 obstacle information distribution means;

20 a vehicle control device;

21 a receiving part;

22 a planning part;

23 a control unit.

Claims

1. A parking lot control server, comprising:

a storage unit that stores profile information relating to profiles of respective parking vehicles of a parking lot;

an extraction unit that extracts contour information corresponding to one or more parking vehicles present around a travel path of a first vehicle newly put in storage in the parking lot;

a distribution unit that distributes the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

2. The parking lot regulation server according to claim 1,

3. The parking lot regulation server according to claim 1 or 2,

4. A parking lot control method, comprising:

a first storage step of storing contour information relating to the contour of each of the parked vehicles in the parking lot;

an extraction step of extracting contour information corresponding to one or a plurality of parking vehicles existing around a travel route of a first vehicle newly entering the parking lot;

a distribution step of distributing the extracted contour information to the first vehicle.

5. The parking lot control method according to claim 4,

the method includes a second storage step of storing first contour information relating to a contour of the first vehicle when parking of the first vehicle is completed.

6. The parking lot control method according to claim 4 or 5,

the method includes a deletion step of deleting second contour information relating to a contour of a second vehicle when the second vehicle as the parking vehicle is taken out of the parking lot.

7. A vehicle control device is characterized by comprising:

a receiving unit that receives profile information relating to profiles of parking vehicles of a parking lot from a parking lot control server;

a planning unit that makes a travel plan of the host vehicle based on the contour information;

and a control unit that controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle autonomously travels according to the travel plan.